This invention relates to cutting tools, and more particularly to a cutting tool featuring a dual-action blade and hook, and adapted to provide superior safety and ease-of-use in a light-weight form factor suited for small, tight, or otherwise difficult to reach environments, by means of: a design usable either while the cutting tool is directly in hand or fixed onto an extension pole; mechanisms that do not include ropes or anything else that may become jammed or tangled during normal operation; a gear-powered, hand-actuated linear- or pivot-based cutting mechanism requiring minimal force to actuate; a storage area that completely contains the cutting edge of the blade when it is not in use; and a smaller path of travel of the handles to actuate the blade, allowing for use in more confined areas.
The prior art includes: U.S. Pat. No. 385,353 (Jul. 3, 1888); U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,926 (Sep. 25, 1956); U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,550 (Jul. 16, 1958); U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,193 (Aug. 10, 1965); U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,445 (Jan. 16, 1973); U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,583 (Jan. 24, 1978); U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,250 (Sep. 10, 1991); U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,765 (Jun. 15, 1993); U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,593 (Jan. 26, 1999); U.S. Patent Application No. 20080189954 (Aug. 14, 2008); U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,864 (Sep. 27, 2011); U.S. Pat. No. 8,943,699 (Feb. 3, 2015). It is desirable to have an improved cutting tool that is superior to any that is disclosed or suggested in the identified references.